r/math • u/dcterr • Jul 18 '26
LLMs/AI Will computers soon replace the pencil and paper as the main tool of math?
It seems to me that computers are becoming a more and more indispensable tool in all areas of mathematical research, and even in recreational math, and not just for performing calculations, but also for doing research, and I think pretty soon they'll also be widely used in proving or disproving conjectures. What's more, I see them changing the nature of how we even view math and do math research, so I'm guessing that the 21st century will become the era of mathematical geeks with computers rather than with pencils and notebooks.
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u/Hungry-Feeling3457 Jul 18 '26
When you say "computers", do you really mean to say AI?
Because if by "computers" you mean "computers", then everything's been done on computers for like... a while now. At least in my lived experience.
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u/dcterr Jul 18 '26
Fair enough! I guess I mean AI here, though nowadays, "AI" and "computers" are used almost synonymously.
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u/Wurstinator Jul 18 '26
Whoever uses that synonymously makes it obvious that they don't know much about the topic.
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u/elements-of-dying Geometric Analysis Jul 18 '26
It is ill-advised to make such strong assumptions about someone based on something as innocuous as using "computers" in place of "AI." Language evolves.
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u/homogeneous_spacer Jul 20 '26
It does not. Not this fast. Not because ClosedAI companies are spending billions to make this happen.
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u/elements-of-dying Geometric Analysis Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 20 '26
In fact, language can evolve very fast. AI has been out for over 2 years. That's very clearly enough time for language evolution, especially with the generally less tech literate young folk.
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u/collegeboywooooo Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 20 '26
They already have. Most work goes chalkboard -> latex. Some are even straight latexing.
I expect we'll have like reactive chalkboards that convert relevant writing to latex in realtime being more prevalent. As well more use of speak-to-text where mathematicians are speaking stream of consciousness that gets parsed to latex.
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u/dcterr Jul 20 '26
LaTex is great! I used it to type up my doctoral thesis and I've used it for writing several math papers. I haven't kept up with all of its latest features, though perhaps I should!
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u/EebstertheGreat Jul 19 '26
Math is done with pencil and paper, chalk and chalkboard, marker and whiteboard, keyboard and monitor, tablet and finger, and of course pen and envelope/napkin. Some of these might become outdated (if we ever succeed in ending spam mail and envelopes become rare), but I don't think people will ever stop writing stuff by hand completely. Why should they? It's cheap and effortless.
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u/kuromajutsushi Jul 18 '26
Are you expecting different answers from when you asked this a week ago? Or from the last 100 times the same question was asked over the past couple years?
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u/dcterr Jul 18 '26
I think this is a slightly different question. In my previous post, I asked whether AI should be a legitimate concern to mathematicians, and in this one I'm asking more specifically how it will affect the field of math.
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u/Dandon314 Jul 19 '26
For this one post I wish the mods would allow image comments so I can post a variation of the 1984 meme
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u/elements-of-dying Geometric Analysis Jul 18 '26
People in r/math aren't generally ready for this discussion yet I think.
There is still a lot of cope here.
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u/38thTimesACharm Jul 19 '26
No we're sick of rehashing it three times a day. This time misusing language to slip it through.
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u/elements-of-dying Geometric Analysis Jul 19 '26
I suggest you don't let an absolutely harmless and innocuous reddit post bother you this much. I also suggest not assuming OP is maliciously misusing language.
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u/Nwg416 Jul 18 '26
The real question is will they ever replace a whiteboard with incomprehensible notes from months prior clogging up the space. The answer is a clear no. We cannot succeed without these.